The power of mathematics to help us understand the natural world is remarkable. Physical laws and principles are very often expressed as mathematical equations. Practically, they allow us to predict real events and develop sophisticated technologies. Philosophically, the question as to whether mathematics is something we invent or discover, and why the physical world should…
Mathematical visualization techniques led the author to create this virtual scene, showing shapes from the realm of mathematics bursting into the physical world. Credit: Frank Farris, CC BY Once upon a time, mathematicians imagined their job was to discover new mathematics and then let others explain it. Today, digital tools like 3-D printing, animation and…
Walking out of the cinema, tears streaming down my face, I knew it was time for me to give back. I, Daniel Blake was only a film, but it was also so much more than that. I couldn’t stop thinking about the struggles those characters went through. It made me feel that we need to…
Every country around the world is trying to crack one of the toughest mathematical conundrums on the books. Not the Riemann hypothesis or the Navier-Stokes equations but the challenge of how to get schoolchildren to fall in love with mathematics. One country trying an innovative approach to the challenge is the tiny kingdom of Bhutan,…
My friend and colleague Peter Lee, who has died aged 76, was a lecturer in mathematics at the University of York and provost of Wentworth College there. Peter was a specialist in statistics and an enthusiastic advocate for Bayesian statistics, which concerns subjective belief but teaches us how to adjust our beliefs in the light…
A fern repeats its pattern at various scales. Credit: Michael , CC BY-NC Humans are visual creatures. Objects we call “beautiful” or “aesthetic” are a crucial part of our humanity. Even the oldest known examples of rock and cave art served aesthetic rather than utilitarian roles. Although aesthetics is often regarded as an ill-defined vague…
Nate Silver (left), founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight.com, believes that conventional wisdom — not polls — failed to predict the results of the 2016 Presidential Election. “If you look at public opinion, people weren’t actually all that confident in Clinton’s chances. It was the media who were very confident in Clinton’s chances.” Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard…
Where are the error bars? Credit: Shutterstock Statistics is a useful tool for understanding the patterns in the world around us. But our intuition often lets us down when it comes to interpreting those patterns. In this series we look at some of the common mistakes we make and how to avoid them when thinking…
When a player’s on fire, is it hot hands? Credit: www.shutterstock.com It’s NCAA basketball tournament season, known for its magical moments and the “March Madness” it can produce. Many fans remember Stephen Curry’s superhuman 2008 performance where he led underdog Davidson College to victory while nearly outscoring the entire determined Gonzaga team by himself in…
A perfect night out involves a lot of chance. Credit: Shutterstock Statistics is a useful tool for understanding the patterns in the world around us. But our intuition often lets us down when it comes to interpreting those patterns. In this series we look at some of the common mistakes we make and how to…